Bipartisan House Lawmakers Condemn CCP’s ‘Destabilizing’ Policy Targeting Taiwanese

Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) speaks as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies before the House Committee On Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 10, 2021. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images)

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has called on the international community to condemn new guidelines imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that target Taiwanese citizens deemed advocates of Taiwan’s independence.

The CCP’s guidelines, issued on June 21 and with immediate effect, permit trials in absentia with the death penalty as the maximum sentence. The so-called crimes include promoting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations and facilitating the island’s diplomatic and military exchanges with other countries, according to the text released through Chinese state media Xinhua.

In a statement issued on July 12, the lawmakers condemned the CCP’s new guidelines, which they described as a “destabilizing policy approach” toward cross-strait relations.

“This escalatory move by Beijing represents a significant threat to peace and stability in the region,” the statement reads. “These guidelines will have a severe chilling effect on exchanges with China and represent a destabilizing policy approach to cross-strait relations.

“We call on the international community to join us in condemning the PRC’s actions, supporting a secure, free, and democratic Taiwan, and strengthening efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.” PRC is an acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

The statement was issued by the co-chairs of the House Taiwan Caucus: Reps. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), and Andy Barr (R-Ky.).

The CCP sees Taiwan as a “renegade province” and is bent on bringing it under its control, by force if necessary, even though the self-ruled island is a de facto independent nation.

The new guidelines instruct China’s courts, procuratorates, public security, state security, and administrative organs to “severely punish Taiwan independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession crimes according to the law.”

Tensions have heightened across the Taiwan Strait in recent years. After the democratic-governed island swore into office a new president, Lai Ching-te, in May, the CCP staged a two-day large-scale military drill around Taiwan and described it as “punishment” for what it called ‘Taiwan independence” forces.

The lawmakers vowed to continue supporting Taiwan as it faces “an increasingly belligerent and dangerous” Chinese regime.

“We will continue to oppose further attempts by Beijing to isolate or threaten Taiwan and intimidate its neighbors,” the statement reads.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has told Beijing that it has no authority over its 23 million citizens and has urged the Taiwanese “not to be threatened or intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party.”

“The Beijing authorities have absolutely no jurisdiction over Taiwan, and the CCP’s so-called laws and norms have no binding force on our people,” the council said in a June statement responding to Beijing’s guidelines.

Mr. Lai also criticized the CCP for imposing punishments on so-called Taiwan independence separatists.

At a press event on June 24, the Taiwan president said: “Democracy is not a crime, but autocracy is a crime.

“China has absolutely no right to sanction the Taiwanese people simply because of their beliefs, and China certainly does not have the right to pursue cross-border prosecution of the Taiwanese people.”

To prevent its citizens from becoming potential political victims, MAC raised its travel alert for China to the second-highest level—from yellow to orange—on June 27, urging its people not to go to the mainland, Hong Kong, or Macau unless absolutely necessary.